40th Anniversary Speeches

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On December 9, 2008 at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, SRI International commemorated the 40th anniversary of the world debut of personal and interactive computing by Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart and his SRI Augmentation Research Center (ARC).

On December 9, 1968, Engelbart and his team presented their groundbreaking research live to a packed house at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco, California. This was the world debut of the computer mouse, real-time text editing, hypertext linking, multiple windows with flexible view control, shared-screen teleconferencing, and more, all while networked to team members back at the lab via their host computer 30 miles away. The spellbound audience was witnessing a new paradigm in computing, with a constellation of pioneering firsts aimed at augmenting human intellect. Their presentation became known as the "Mother of All Demos."

Speakers at the 2008 event included original participants in the 1968 demo and presentations on Doug Engelbart's vision to use computing to augment society's collective intellect and ability to solve the complex issues of our time.

Click below to watch individual sessions, or watch the Event Playlist in full.
Follow along with the Event Program, and visit our 40th Anniversary Event site for more.

A Message from SRI International
Curtis R. Carlson, President and CEO, SRI International
(2:59; 7.4 MB streaming)

Welcome
Robert Sproull, Vice President and Fellow, Sun Microsystems Laboratories
(4:17, 10.2MB streaming)

Introduction
Charles House
Executive Director, Media X at Stanford University
(6:08; 14.9MB streaming)

Highlights of the 1968 Demo
Selected footage from the "Mother of All Demos" video compilation shown at the event
(25 minutes)

Panel of 1968 Demo Participants: Part 1
Moderator Robert Sproull with SRI principals of the 1968 demo Don Andrews, William English, Bill Paxton, Jeff Rulifson, and a member of the 1968 audience, Andries van Dam
(30:04, 73.4MB streaming)

Panel of 1968 Demo Participants: Part 2
Moderator Robert Sproull with SRI principals of the 1968 demo Don Andrews, William English, Bill Paxton, Jeff Rulifson, and a member of the 1968 audience, Andries van Dam
(30:32, 72.5MB streaming)

Goals and Impact of the Research
Robert W. Taylor, former Program Director, ARPA
and John Markoff, Senior Writer, The New York Times
(29:55; 73MB streaming video)

Surviving in a Global World
Daniel Borel
Co-founder and Board Member, Logitech
(13:17; 31.5MB streaming video)

Driving Vision
Christina Engelbart
Executive Director,
Doug Engelbart Institute
Click here for her slide deck
(35:33; 89.7MB streaming video)

Significance of the Vision
Alan Kay
President, Viewpoints Research Institute
(28:26; 68.1MB streaming video)

Closing Remarks
Robert Sproull reads message from Vint Cerf; then joined onstage by Christina Engelbart and Doug Engelbart
(5:07; 12.2MB streaming video)